Before baseball’s lockout began, the Pittsburgh Pirates went on what amounted to their type of spending spree.
By signing one-year free-agent contracts, pitcher Jose Quintana ($2 million), first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo ($4 million) and catcher Roberto Perez ($5 million) became the club’s highest-paid players and, essentially, locked up three spots on the Opening Day roster.
Since finishing 61-101 last season, the Pirates have undergone roster turnover by trading Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings to the Miami Marlins and cutting ties with first baseman Colin Moran and starting pitchers Steven Brault and Chad Kuhl and allowing reliever Chasen Shreve to enter free agency.
Now that a new collective bargaining agreement has been approved, players will report by Sunday to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., and prepare for the following position battles:
Catcher
Soon after shipping Stallings to Miami, the Pirates signed a two-time Gold Glove winner in Perez. The 33-year-old has been bothered by injuries the past two seasons but provided pop with 24 home runs in 119 games in 2019.
“We’re excited about getting him healthy and seeing what he can do offensively,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in December. “We feel good about him coming in and helping us behind the dish. He’s his own player. He’s a unique personality, his own personality. But certainly some of the things he does well are similar to what Stalls did well.”
There will be a battle for the backup job between Michael Perez and Jamie Ritchie, who signed a minor-league contract, but the Pirates plan to continue searching for catching depth.
First base
By severing ties with Moran, the starting job is Tsutsugo’s to lose. After struggling in Tampa Bay and with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tsutsugo thrived after signing with the Pirates in August. He hit eight homers and had 25 RBIs in 43 games, and Cherington loves how his lefty bat plays with the short porch in right field at PNC Park.
“I think we all saw once he got to Pittsburgh that some of the things he’s always done as a hitter were there,” Cherington said. “The ability to make good decisions, good swing decisions, hit the ball in the air, hit with some impact, manage an at-bat against lefties and righties.”
The bigger question is whether Tsutsugo is better suited to serve as designated hitter. If so, Michael Chavis is the top in-house candidate to play first base, where he has batted .251 with 11 homers and 41 RBIs in 81 career games. Cherington left the door cracked for Moran to return, just not at the price he could have commanded in arbitration.
Second base
Replacing All-Star Adam Frazier hasn’t been easy, though the Pirates have a handful of candidates who will compete for the starting job.
Defensively, Cole Tucker has shown the flair for the spectacular but has to prove his bat belongs in the lineup. Hoy Park, acquired from the New York Yankees last July in the Clay Holmes trade, has flashed a solid bat but hasn’t hit consistently.
If he doesn’t play first base, Chavis could be another consideration. He has played 74 games at second base. Rodolfo Castro made baseball history by becoming the first player whose first five hits were homers, but he could start the season at Triple-A Indianapolis, unless the Pirates prefer to give Tucupita Marcano — acquired from San Diego in the Frazier trade — more playing time there. Diego Castillo, acquired from the Yankees and added to the 40-man roster, also could make a push.
“There are a lot of candidates, and I think there is time to figure that out,” Cherington said. “It’s probably an area in the infield where we’re less likely to add externally, at least in terms of rostered players. We think we’ve got a number of guys who all have the potential to be good major league players and help us, but, similar to the pitching, a lot of them have not proven themselves fully at the major league level, and we want to give guys opportunities to do that. That will be fun, I think, to watch that play out in spring training and during the season.”
Shortstop
Kevin Newman was a Gold Glove finalist last season, when he started with a 76-game errorless streak, but batted only .226. The Pirates avoided arbitration with Newman by signing him to a $1.95 million deal, making him the favorite to start at shortstop.
After challenging Newman to improve his defense in 2021, the Pirates are counting on him to be self-motivated to show a better bat.
“One of the things we admire about Kevin is that when he has a challenge in front of him and he’s given a challenge, he works his tail off and gets after it,” Cherington said. “He’s almost narrowly focused on accomplishing a task.”
Newman’s grasp on the starting job could be tenuous, considering how top prospect Oneil Cruz flashed athleticism, power and speed in his major league debut last October. The Pirates might want Cruz to start the season in Indianapolis and have contemplated moving him around the diamond to better take advantage of his 6-foot-7 frame and strong arm. Liover Peguero, added to the 40-man roster, is likely to start the season at Double-A Altoona.
The Pirates could choose to try Cruz at short and slide Newman to second, like they did in the season finale.
Third base
Ke’Bryan Hayes has this position locked down for the foreseeable future, given his dynamic defense. He would have been a Gold Glove candidate had he played enough innings to qualify.
Hayes, however, missed the first two months with a left hand injury that proved bothersome all season, as he hit .257 with 20 doubles, six homers and 38 RBIs in 96 games.
Left field
Claiming Ben Gamel off the waiver wire was a steal for the Pirates, as he slashed .255/.352/.399 and showed he could cover the cavernous ground in left at PNC Park. The Pirates signed Gamel to a one-year deal for $1.8 million that could reach $2 million with incentives, making him the odds-on favorite to start.
Anthony Alford got off to a rocky start but rediscovered his swing in Indianapolis and provides more power — his five homers in 49 games were three fewer than Gamel’s eight in 111 — but has yet to prove that he is a starting-caliber outfielder.
Center field
Bryan Reynolds shifted to center and became an All-Star and Gold Glove and Silver Slugger finalist after batting .302/.390/.912 with 35 doubles, eight triples, 24 homers and 90 RBIs.
Projected to earn $4.5 million in arbitration, Reynolds is a potential trade candidate who could fetch the Pirates a prosperous package. Otherwise, he’s a sure bet to start in center.
“We’re really lucky to have Bryan Reynolds,” said Cherington, who acknowledged that the Pirates always are considering trades to improve their depth of talent. “What I would tell our fans first and foremost is we’re spending every ounce of energy that we can to get to winning as fast as we possibly can. It’s certainly going to be a lot easier to do that with Bryan Reynolds on the team.”
Right field
Gregory Polanco’s lack of production prompted his release in late August but, replacing him has been more difficult than imagined.
Gamel seem better suited for left field than playing balls off the Clemente Wall, Chavis was injured diving for a ball in right and Tsutsugo turned fly balls into an adventure. Alford, Park and Tucker took turns there to no avail.
The Pirates claimed Greg Allen off waivers from the Yankees, and he has shown the speed and versatility to play all three outfield spots. The 27-year-old batted .270 in 15 games for the Yankees last season, 13 points higher than his best season, in 91 games with Cleveland in 2018.
Jared Oliva is another internal option with minimal major league experience. The Pirates added Canaan Smith-Njigba, Jack Suwinski and Travis Swaggerty to their 40-man roster, although they are expected to start in Indy.
This is a position where the Pirates could look for outside help through trade or free agency.
Starting rotation
The Pirates added a veteran lefty in Quintana, who has an 83-80 record and 3.84 ERA in 10 seasons but has spent time in the bullpen the past two seasons.
The Pirates return starters JT Brubaker, Wil Crowe, Mitch Keller and Bryse Wilson and added another, Zach Thompson, through the Stallings trade. But Cherington made it clear in December that he will be in the market to add to the rotation through free agency and trades. That will give pitching prospects such as Roansy Contreras, Max Kranick and Miguel Yajure more time to develop at Indianapolis.
“When (manager Derek Shelton) and I did our exit meetings, we pretty intentionally told every pitcher who was in a starting role for the Pirates who we knew was coming back to prepare to come into spring training to fight and win a job,” Cherington said. “There was nobody that we assumed is in our rotation, but there are a lot of guys who have a chance to be. So there will be a good competition in spring training. But yeah, if we can, we’d like to add more.”
Bullpen
After trading Richard Rodriguez to Atlanta at the deadline, the Pirates appeared to find a back-end replacement in the duo of David Bednar and Chris Stratton.
Stratton (7-1) led the team in wins and finished with eight saves in 79 1/3 innings and could double his $1.1 million salary in arbitration. Bednar boasted a 2.23 ERA and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Only lefty Sam Howard averaged more (12.0 K/9), albeit with a 5.60 ERA. Right-handers Duane Underwood Jr. and Luis Oviedo and lefties Anthony Banda and Dillon Peters also return, and righty Eric Hanhold was claimed off waivers from Baltimore.
The Pirates could convert one of their starters into a long reliever but still need to bolster their bullpen.
Designated hitter
As much as the addition of the universal DH was anticipated, the Pirates have few options on their roster.
Tsutsugo makes the most sense, but that would require them to find another first baseman. When the DH was adopted for the shortened 2020 season, Shelton rotated first basemen Josh Bell and Moran. Shelton could opt to do the same this season or use it as a way to give position players a day off from the field while still batting.
What the Pirates are willing to spend to add another player will be telling.
